THE #MAJORSTARACT PAY-FOR QUESTION HAS BEEN BUILDING FOR MORE THAN SIX YEARS The Major Richard Star Act was first introduced in February 2020. Since then, versions of the legislation have been introduced across four Congresses. @RepBost was not listed as a cosponsor of the 2020 or 2021 House versions of the Major Richard Star Act. He became Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in January 2023. He also does not appear on the listed cosponsors of the 2023 or current 2025 House versions. Today, Bost argues that the legislation needs an offset. At the House Rules Committee, he said: “Only passing paid-for legislation does that.” Bost has argued that identifying an offset is necessary to move the Major Richard Star Act through Congress and that TCAVA provides such a path. But Congress has made different budgetary choices when addressing other costs of military service. The 2022 PACT Act dramatically expanded health care and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and created the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund. The legislation was not fully offset on a dollar-for-dollar basis. CBO later estimated that the PACT Act would increase federal deficits by approximately $797 billion from 2022 through 2032, primarily through increased mandatory spending. That history creates a straightforward policy question: If Congress was willing to recognize hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic-exposure benefits as part of the cost of war, why must restoring earned military retirement to combat-injured medical retirees now be financed through changes affecting compensation rules for future disabled veterans? Congress must account for the budgetary effects of legislation, and statutory PAYGO rules apply to legislation affecting mandatory spending. But Congress also determines how legislation is structured, what offsets are used, and whether other budgetary mechanisms are pursued. The question is therefore not whether the Major Richard Star Act has a cost. It does. The question is who Congress chooses to make bear that cost. @chicagotribune @Suntimes @dailyherald @SJRbreaking @pjstar @ABC7Chicago @WGNNews @washingtonpost @thehill @politico @WashTimes @dcexaminer @axios @rollcall @WTOP @VFWHQ @VFW_OfficeDC